The bulk of my birding years was spent in southern Wisconsin, so winter finch exposure was scanty.
Three times this week - once each in St. Louis, Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties - I've had small flocks of finches fly over that my ear says "Redpoll" - the chip, chip, chip call. Or was it jip - jip - jip? I wouldn't normally question my ear on this, except flocks of Red Crossbills are being reported with regularity as much as 70 miles south of my location - and I've seen few reports on C. Redpolls yet. So, the question is, how does one distinguish the flight calls of the two species? This morning's Internet search was unproductive, and neither the Peterson nor Feith CD's have Red Crossbills on them. Thanks! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
